Going by the sleeve you expect the sound of Gallon Drunk or even the Stray Cats from this New York three-piece who take pains to identify their instruments precisely (Czechoslovakian upright bass, electric archtop guitar, trap kit) but as soon as Reid Paley sings you realise there’s something else in the mix. Theirs is a jazz-blues-rockabilly sound topped by an ugly-beautiful voice that’s a blend of Nick Cave with laryngitis, Tom Waits and Louis Armstrong. It’s so distinctive that it takes a while for your listening organs to balance the gruff, hoarse voice with the excellent playing but the vocals fits perfectly with the honestly drunk blues of ‘Stay Awhile’ or the funny/profane ‘Yr Polish Uncle’. That song displays the other good thing about this record, the foul-mouthed and dark wit that produces lines like “shut your mouth and you’ll piss yourself a story/ about the spastic monkey and the whore” over a frenetic rock’n’roll rhythm that will have your spitting your dinner over the stereo in mirth.